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CONCERNING THE BURNING BUSH AND THE ROD OF MOSES.

1. NOW Moses, when he had obtained the favor of Jethro, for that was one of the names of Raguel1, staid there and fed his flock; but some time afterward, taking his station at the mountain called Sinai2, he drove his flocks thither to feed them. Now this is the highest of all the mountains thereabout, and the best for pasturage, the herbage being there good; and it had not been before fed upon, because of the opinion men had that God dwelt there3, the shepherds not daring to ascend up to it4; and here it was that a wonderful prodigy happened to Moses; for a fire fed upon a thorn bush, yet did the green leaves and the flowers continue untouched, and the fire did not at all consume the fruit branches, although the flame was great and fierce5. Moses was aftrighted at this strange sight, as it was to him; but he was still more astonished when the fire uttered a voice, and called to him by name, and spake words to him, by which it signified how bold he had been in venturing to come into a place whither no man had ever come before, because the place was divine; and advised him to remove a great way off from the flame, and to be contented with what he had seen; and though he were himself a good man, and the offspring of great men, yet that he should not pry any further6; and he foretold to him, that he should have glory and honor among men7, by the blessing of God upon him. He also commanded him to go away thence with confidence to Egypt, in order to his being the commander and conductor8 of the body of the Hebrews, and to his delivering his own people from the injuries they suffered there: "For," said God, "they shall inhabit this happy land9 which your forefather Abraham inhabited, and shall have the enjoyment of all good things." But still he enjoined them, when he brought the Hebrews out of the land of Egypt10, to come to that place, and to offer sacrifices of thanksgiving there11, Such were the divine oracles which were delivered out of the fire.

 

Exodus 3:14-15/2.12.4

4. Moses having now seen and heard these wonders that assured him of the truth of these promises of God, had no room left him to disbelieve them: he entreated him to grant him that power when he should be in Egypt; and besought him to vouchsafe him the knowledge of his own name; and since he had heard and seen him, that he would also tell him his name, that when he offered sacrifice he might invoke him by such his name in his oblations12. Whereupon God declared to him his holy name13, which had never been discovered to men before; concerning which it is not lawful for me to say any more14 Now these signs accompanied Moses, not then only, but always when he prayed for them15: of all which signs he attributed the firmest assent to the fire in the bush; and believing that God would be a gracious supporter to him, he hoped he should be able to deliver his own nation, and bring calamities on the Egyptians.

 

Exodus 3:11-22/2.12.2

2. But Moses was astonished at what he saw, and much more at what he heard; and he said, "I think it would be an instance of too great madness, O Lord, for one of that regard I bear to thee, to distrust thy power, since I myself adore it, and know that it has been made manifest to my progenitors16: but I am still in doubt how I, who am a private man, and one of no abilities17, should either persuade my own countrymen to leave the country they now inhabit, and to follow me to a land whither I lead them; or, if they should be persuaded, how can I force Pharaoh to permit them to depart, since they augment their own wealth and prosperity by the labors and works they put upon them ?"

Josephus omits the biblical statement (Exod. 3:19) in which God asserts that he is sure that Pharaoh will not let the Israelites go and predicts that he will perform miracles. Josephus also omits God’s statement (Exod. 3:21-22) that He will give the Israelites favor in the eyes of the Egyptians so that they will lend them vessels and garments.

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FOOTNOTES 

1 In the case of Jethro, the reader of the Bible is befuddled by the fact that Jethro seems to be called by no fewer than seven names—Jethro (Exod. 3:1), Jether (Exod. 4:18), Putiel (Exod. 6:25), Reuel (Num. 2:18), Hobab (Num. 10:29), Keni (Judg. 1:16), and Heber (Judg. 4:11). Aware of this, Josephus regularly calls him Raguel, but here remarks that his surname was Ietheglaeus, that is, Jethro. In the rabbinic tradition (Midrash Exod. Rabbah 1.32) his name is Jethro, and he is also called Reuel.

2 In Exod. 3:1 the mountain is referred to as Horeb. Though it has been variously proposed that Horeb and Sinai are two different mountains (Davies 1979:68-69) or two peaks in one range or that one is the name of the area and the other is the name of the peak (Lipschitz 1971:1597), Josephus apparently follows the Jewish tradition that used both names synonymously (e.g. Ecclus. 48:7). Here he adopts the name “Sinai,” since that was the more familiar name for the mountain.

3 The statement that there was a belief that God spent time there is Josephus’ addition. The basis of this belief is that the mountain was called “the mountain of God” (Exod. 3:1). The LXX omits “of God.” So also in the rabbinic tradition ( Targum Onqelos on Exod. 3:1, Sifre Deut. 22).

4 The statement that shepherds did not dare to set foot on this mountain is Josephus’ addition.

5 Exod. 3:2 describes the burning bush as a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush and mentions that an angel appeared to Moses in the flame of it. Josephus omits the angel completely but describes the bush and the flame at greater length.

6 The vivid description of Moses’ reaction to the flame is Josephus’ addition. Moreover, whereas Exod. 3:4 identifies the voice as that of God, Josephus simply refers to it as a voice. The statement that the voice pointed out to Moses his boldness in coming to such a holy place and its counsel to be content with what he had seen and to pry no further are Josephus’ additions.

7 God’s prediction of the glory that Moses would receive is Josephus’ addition.

8 Whereas in Exod. 3:10 the voice tells Moses that he will be sent to Pharaoh to bring forth the Israelites from Egypt, in Josephus the role envisaged for Moses is a military one, since the voice here bids him courageously ( θαρροῦντα) return to Egypt to act as commander and leader ( στρατηγὸν καὶ ἡγεμόνα).

9 In Exod. 3:8 God tells Moses from the burning bush that He will take the Israelites into a good and broad land, the land of the Canaanites, flowing with milk and honey. A similar statement is found a few verses later (Exod. 3:17). The implication is clear: the Israelites are to displace the Canaanites and establish an independent state in the land. In Josephus’ version, however, there is significantly no mention of the Canaanites who are to be displaced and no suggestion of an independent state; the Israelites are merely to come to the land and settle there. On the absence of land theology in Josephus see Amaru (1980-81:201-29).

10 Josephus here omits Moses’ humble objection to God (Exod. 3:11): “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt?”

11 God’s directive here to Moses to offer sacrifices of thanksgiving after he has led the Israelites out of Egypt is Josephus’ addition. Rather, in Exod. 3:12 God instructs Moses that after he has brought the Israelites out of Egypt they are to serve God upon that mountain.

12 A leader must be decisive. He cannot be depicted as lacking self-confidence. In the biblical passage, when God commissions Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egyptian bondage, Moses timidly tells God that when he informs the Israelites that God has sent him to them, they will ask him what is God’s name, and so he now turns to God to seek an answer to that question (Exod. 3:13). In Josephus Moses here likewise asks God for His name, but the question shows no lack of self-confidence; rather, the reason Moses asks for God’s name is so that he may address Him properly when sacrificing to Him. Similarly, the rabbinic tradition ( Pirqe de-Rabbi Eliezer 40) reports that Moses asked God to tell him His name so that he might call upon Him by name and so that He might give him a favorable hearing.

13 Josephus here omits the reason why God gives His name, namely in response to Moses’ request as to what to tell the Israelites when they demand to know what is the name of the God who sent him to them.

14 This is the Tetragrammaton, which only the high priest was permitted to pronounce, and only on the Day of Atonement. This prohibition probably results from the passage (Lev. 24:16) which states that one who blasphemes the name of God shall be put to death. The Mishnah ( Soṭah 7:6) states that when the blessing of the priests (Num. 6:24-26) is recited in the sanctuary one says the Name as it is written, but that in the provinces a euphemism is substituted for the Name. Philo, De Vita Mosis 2.23.114, describes the name as one “that only those whose ears and tongues are purified may hear or speak in the holy place, and no other person, nor in any other place at all.” Nodet ( ad loc.) points out the apparent contradiction between this passage and Gen. 4:26, that with the birth of Enosh “men began to call upon the name of the Lord”; but this last clause is omitted in Josephus’ paraphrase ( Ant. 1.79), and, in any case, it does not necessarily mean that they pronounced the Tetragrammaton as written.

15 The statement that the signs will be available to Moses at all times whenever needed is Josephus’ addition.  

16 This statement of faith on the part of Moses is absent from Exod. 3:4-4:13.  

17 Moses’ confession that he had no great strength is Josephus’ addition.